July 15, 2008

John Coy: Girls have reading down, but boys are losing interest

John Coy: Girls have reading down, but boys are losing interest

Worse,
in important ways the publishing industry seems to have given up trying
to give them books on subjects that interest them.

By JOHN COY, Minneapolis Star Tribune

On a recent bookstore visit, a sign caught my eye: "Summer Reading
for Teens." As an author of young adult novels, I was curious to see
what books were selected for the table.

Fashionistas, mean girls, gossip girls, island girls, it girls, a
whole sisterhood of traveling pants. Had I read the sign wrong? Was
this the table of summer reading for girls? I checked the sign again:
Summer Reading for Teens. I scanned the table. Where were the books for
boys? Among the brightly colored covers, not a single book featured a
male protagonist in a contemporary setting.

What would a male teen think about this table? Probably that summer reading didn't include him.

Just then a group of high school students came in with their
teacher. A store employee greeted them and stood in front of the Summer
Reading for Teens table. As she began talking about the books in the
store, I watched the summer school students. Most of the girls were
paying attention and looking over the books on the table. The boys'
eyes were wandering elsewhere and most of them looked like they wanted
to be somewhere -- anywhere -- else.

What message do we send boys when we load up a table of books for
teens with titles that so many of them do not connect with? Is summer
reading supposed to be fun? Do we assume that boys won't read for fun?
Do we assume boys don't read -- period?

Years ago, I took a workshop from Jane Yolen, the acclaimed writer
of books for children. She said, "We don't have enough books that
reflect the genuine interests of boys." That was true 15 years ago. It
is still true now.As a writer who visits many schools, I'm always stuck by the
enthusiasm of students in a first-grade class who are learning to read.
The marks on the page are a secret code: Excitement and concentration
are evident as students decipher it. When they do, words and sentences
appear and their world is altered forever

On a recent bookstore visit, a sign caught my eye: "Summer Reading
for Teens." As an author of young adult novels, I was curious to see
what books were selected for the table.

Fashionistas, mean girls, gossip girls, island girls, it girls, a
whole sisterhood of traveling pants. Had I read the sign wrong? Was
this the table of summer reading for girls? I checked the sign again:
Summer Reading for Teens. I scanned the table. Where were the books for
boys? Among the brightly colored covers, not a single book featured a
male protagonist in a contemporary setting.

What would a male teen think about this table? Probably that summer reading didn't include him.

Just then a group of high school students came in with their
teacher. A store employee greeted them and stood in front of the Summer
Reading for Teens table. As she began talking about the books in the
store, I watched the summer school students. Most of the girls were
paying attention and looking over the books on the table. The boys'
eyes were wandering elsewhere and most of them looked like they wanted
to be somewhere -- anywhere -- else.

What message do we send boys when we load up a table of books for
teens with titles that so many of them do not connect with? Is summer
reading supposed to be fun? Do we assume that boys won't read for fun?
Do we assume boys don't read -- period?

Years ago, I took a workshop from Jane Yolen, the acclaimed writer
of books for children. She said, "We don't have enough books that
reflect the genuine interests of boys." That was true 15 years ago. It
is still true now.

As a writer who visits many schools, I'm always stuck by the
enthusiasm of students in a first-grade class who are learning to read.
The marks on the page are a secret code: Excitement and concentration
are evident as students decipher it. When they do, words and sentences
appear and their world is altered forever.

Yet, if you see these same students four years later and ask them
how they feel about reading, a number will say they don't like to read.
Some of these fifth-graders will tell you directly that they hate
reading. Of this last group, almost all are boys.

Think about this: If you tried to devise an educational system whose
main goal was to change the enthusiasm of first-grade boys into a
dislike of reading in four years, could you create a system more
effective than the one we have now?

We have done boys a fundamental disservice by failing to publish
more books that address their genuine interests. Go into any classroom
and ask boys what they like to do. Make a list and then take that down
to the library and see how many chapter books and novels you can find
on these topics. The gap is huge

Comments

John Coy: Girls have reading down, but boys are losing interest

Worse,
in important ways the publishing industry seems to have given up trying
to give them books on subjects that interest them.

By JOHN COY, Minneapolis Star Tribune

On a recent bookstore visit, a sign caught my eye: "Summer Reading
for Teens." As an author of young adult novels, I was curious to see
what books were selected for the table.

Fashionistas, mean girls, gossip girls, island girls, it girls, a
whole sisterhood of traveling pants. Had I read the sign wrong? Was
this the table of summer reading for girls? I checked the sign again:
Summer Reading for Teens. I scanned the table. Where were the books for
boys? Among the brightly colored covers, not a single book featured a
male protagonist in a contemporary setting.

What would a male teen think about this table? Probably that summer reading didn't include him.

Just then a group of high school students came in with their
teacher. A store employee greeted them and stood in front of the Summer
Reading for Teens table. As she began talking about the books in the
store, I watched the summer school students. Most of the girls were
paying attention and looking over the books on the table. The boys'
eyes were wandering elsewhere and most of them looked like they wanted
to be somewhere -- anywhere -- else.

What message do we send boys when we load up a table of books for
teens with titles that so many of them do not connect with? Is summer
reading supposed to be fun? Do we assume that boys won't read for fun?
Do we assume boys don't read -- period?

Years ago, I took a workshop from Jane Yolen, the acclaimed writer
of books for children. She said, "We don't have enough books that
reflect the genuine interests of boys." That was true 15 years ago. It
is still true now.As a writer who visits many schools, I'm always stuck by the
enthusiasm of students in a first-grade class who are learning to read.
The marks on the page are a secret code: Excitement and concentration
are evident as students decipher it. When they do, words and sentences
appear and their world is altered forever

On a recent bookstore visit, a sign caught my eye: "Summer Reading
for Teens." As an author of young adult novels, I was curious to see
what books were selected for the table.

Fashionistas, mean girls, gossip girls, island girls, it girls, a
whole sisterhood of traveling pants. Had I read the sign wrong? Was
this the table of summer reading for girls? I checked the sign again:
Summer Reading for Teens. I scanned the table. Where were the books for
boys? Among the brightly colored covers, not a single book featured a
male protagonist in a contemporary setting.

What would a male teen think about this table? Probably that summer reading didn't include him.

Just then a group of high school students came in with their
teacher. A store employee greeted them and stood in front of the Summer
Reading for Teens table. As she began talking about the books in the
store, I watched the summer school students. Most of the girls were
paying attention and looking over the books on the table. The boys'
eyes were wandering elsewhere and most of them looked like they wanted
to be somewhere -- anywhere -- else.

What message do we send boys when we load up a table of books for
teens with titles that so many of them do not connect with? Is summer
reading supposed to be fun? Do we assume that boys won't read for fun?
Do we assume boys don't read -- period?

Years ago, I took a workshop from Jane Yolen, the acclaimed writer
of books for children. She said, "We don't have enough books that
reflect the genuine interests of boys." That was true 15 years ago. It
is still true now.

As a writer who visits many schools, I'm always stuck by the
enthusiasm of students in a first-grade class who are learning to read.
The marks on the page are a secret code: Excitement and concentration
are evident as students decipher it. When they do, words and sentences
appear and their world is altered forever.

Yet, if you see these same students four years later and ask them
how they feel about reading, a number will say they don't like to read.
Some of these fifth-graders will tell you directly that they hate
reading. Of this last group, almost all are boys.

Think about this: If you tried to devise an educational system whose
main goal was to change the enthusiasm of first-grade boys into a
dislike of reading in four years, could you create a system more
effective than the one we have now?

We have done boys a fundamental disservice by failing to publish
more books that address their genuine interests. Go into any classroom
and ask boys what they like to do. Make a list and then take that down
to the library and see how many chapter books and novels you can find
on these topics. The gap is huge